Equity, Justice and Inclusivity

The Smith lab is committed to an equitable and just environment within the lab and the University. We oppose racism and hate through allyship, continuous unlearning, learning and listening. Rooted in the culture in the lab is recruiting diverse people with diverse ideas. The diversity that each person brings to science strengthens the discussions and is viewed as a resource and benefit.  In our efforts to provide an equitable environment within the lab we have implemented several policies to advance our advocacy efforts while also providing an environment that is equitable for everyone. These include: 
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  1. Each member of the lab reads “The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist” by Ben Barres, who eloquently outlines his experience as a scientist and charge for active advocacy.
  2. Each member of the lab reads literature related to anti-black racism in academia (see link)
  3. Each member of the lab is strongly encouraged to assess their implicit biases by taking the implicit bias tests. This is important to educate themselves on their own biases, which impact interactions in lab and elsewhere
  4. Advocacy conversations occur through numerous avenues in lab. Annually, we dedicate a lab meeting to openly discuss racism in academia.
  5. The lab has a #advocacy channel in slack that we regularly post relevant readings and videos related to advocating for scientists of underrepresented groups.
  6. The lab promotes their efforts in advocacy in presentations from the lab and through partnership with other labs that also seek advocacy efforts. 
  7. Cody participates in discussions during invited campus visits to share and brainstorm ideas related to inclusive excellence and fighting racism in academia. 

Facts about Attending Graduate School

We seek to recruit and promote diverse scientists. Here we note a few common aspects of the PhD process that are sometimes not widely known:

  • Financial: PhD students receive a full scholarship for their tuition while studying in the lab. In addition, Notre Dame offers an annual stipend. This is not unique to our Institution but is a practice that is common among PhD in STEM.
  • Health: PhD students receive University sponsored health insurance while pursuing their PhD.
  • Recruitment: We recruit PhD students through the University graduate school but are happy to correspond with prospective students ahead of time. Please send Cody an email if you are interested in the lab.

For more information and recourses regarding the fight of racism in academia please visit readings here. 

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For additional reading on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, please read Cody's recent commentary: Members of the majority need to actively promote Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging. PLoS Biology. 2022. Link.